[IndyMedia Bombay] War, Peace, and Censors
nikhil anand
nikhilanand at yahoo.com
Sun, 2 Jun 2002 21:52:09 +0530
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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=20
Press Release =20
Censor Board at war with "WAR AND PEACE" =20
War and Peace, a three hour long documentary by Anand =
Patwardhan, won two major awards at the recently concluded 7th Mumbai =
International Film Festival the Best Film/Video of the Festival, and =
the International Jury Award. =20
The video begins and ends with the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi. Focusing =
on the danger of nuclear war in the Indian subcontinent it goes on to =
describe the problems faced by people living near nuclear testing and =
mining sites, the horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the culpability of =
the USA in using Atom bombs on a nation that was about to surrender, =
the globalization of the arms trade, but most of all it derives its =
power and emotional appeal from the growing movement for peace both in =
India and in Pakistan. =20
=20
We submitted the film to be certified by the Censor Board on April 15. =
Following the wide acceptance garnered by the film from the press and =
public alike, we felt this would be a mere formality. We were wrong. =
>From April 15 till April 30 we were twice issued the wrong forms by =
the Censor Board, causing long delays. Finally our preview tape was =
accepted on April 30 but fault was found with the paging of the =
transcripts, and later, with the binding of the transcripts. In any =
case our tape remained with the Censor Board from April 30 till today =
(more than a month). Finally on May 27 our application was deemed =
correct and complete. Now a new saga began. We were asked to stay in =
touch with an officer of the Censor Board who would set up the Censor =
screening after the examining committee had been named. We called this =
officer everyday for four days only to be told that there was a delay =
because the Censor Board needed to locate a Japanese translator who =
could verify that our Japanese translations were correct. This seemed =
to be a strange problem as the only Japanese in our video is the =
testimony of Atom bomb survivors and this is hardly controversial =
enough to warrant such scrutiny of the Censor Board! =20
=20
What we had first thought to be mere bureaucratic delay and =
incompetence turned out to be something much more deliberate. The =
Sudhir Yardi Memorial trust had obtained special permission from the =
Police and Entertainment Tax Departments to screen "War and Peace" at =
the YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai on the 1st of June as it was an award =
winning film and it was a non-commercial screening. On May 30, Mr. =
Vijay Desai of the Chavan Centre received an angry call from Mr. =
Singhla, Regional Officer of the Censor Board, Mumbai threatening dire =
consequences if the screening went ahead. =20
=20
I phoned Mr. Singhla to find out whether in view of the impending =
screening, the Censor viewing could be expedited or if special =
permission could be granted for the screening. He was brusque and =
arrogant while denying the permission and stated that the Censor =
viewing would take its own time. He also added that our video would =
run into trouble because it had references to the Tehelka arms scandal =
which was sub-judice. I was shocked. Not only is he wrong in that the =
Tehelka issue is up before a fact finding commission of enquiry and =
not in a court of law and therefore cannot be sub-judice, but how did =
he know that our video had referenced Tehelka? This is a tiny fraction =
of our 3 hour video and occurs toward the end. Did the Regional =
Officer watch our video himself before constituting an examining =
committee? Is that the act of an impartial officer or of an interested =
party? =20
=20
I went on to point out that the Films Division of India which comes =
under the Ministry for Information and Broadcasting had not only =
awarded our video but was about to screen all award winning films and =
videos of MIFF 2002 in Kolkata regardless of whether they had censor =
certificates. "War and Peace" was to be the inaugural film on 31st =
May. At this Mr. Singhla laughed and said "Let us see how they show =
the film". =20
=20
He was right. This Regional Officer has powers that go beyond his =
region. I learnt on May 31 that our video had been withdrawn at the =
last minute from the Kolkata festival. The Films Division could not =
use the argument about the censor certificate as many films they were =
showing had no certificate. So they told the press that our video "had =
not arrived". When the press contacted us we had documentary proof =
that the Films Division had signed a receipt for the film two weeks =
ago! Then they said that the film had arrived but the quality was bad. =
But I had a letter from them only three days ago inviting me to come =
to Kolkata for the inauguration. The letter does not mention either =
the non-arrival or the bad quality of our video. =20
=20
I do not blame officials of the Films Division of anything more than =
wanting to protect their jobs. They were going to show "War and Peace" =
in all sincerity until rudely stopped by some invisible force. This =
invisible force has in the last 15 years taken our country to the =
abyss. I want this invisible force to come clean and reveal itself to =
the public gaze. Let it openly declare that it does not believe in =
democracy or in the values propagated by Mahatma Gandhi. These values =
of non-violence and religious tolerance are what "War and Peace" =
celebrates and hopes to rekindle in our psychologically and physically =
scarred region of the globe. =20
=20
Anand Patwardhan 1st June 2002 =20
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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>
<P class=3DMsoNormal><SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN> Press=20
Release <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN> </P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal>Censor Board at war with "WAR AND PEACE" <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN> </P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal> War and Peace, a three hour long documentary =
by Anand=20
<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-tab-count: =
1"> =20
</SPAN>Patwardhan, won two major awards at the recently concluded =
7th =20
Mumbai International Film Festival the Best Film/Video of the =
<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Festival, and the International =
Jury=20
Award. <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal> The video begins and ends with the ideas of =
Mahatma=20
Gandhi. <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Focusing on =
the=20
danger of nuclear war in the Indian subcontinent it <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>goes on to describe the =
problems faced by=20
people living near <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>nuclear=20
testing and mining sites, the horror of Hiroshima and <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Nagasaki, the culpability of =
the USA in=20
using Atom bombs on a <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>nation=20
that was about to surrender, the globalization of the arms <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>trade, but most of all it =
derives its=20
power and emotional appeal from <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>the growing movement for peace =
both in=20
India and in Pakistan. <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal> <?xml:namespace prefix =3D o ns =3D=20
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal>We submitted the film to be certified by the Censor =
Board on=20
April <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>15. Following =
the wide=20
acceptance garnered by the film from the <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>press and public alike, we felt =
this=20
would be a mere formality. We <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>were wrong. From April 15 till =
April 30=20
we were twice issued the <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>wrong forms by the Censor =
Board, causing=20
long delays. Finally our <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>preview tape was accepted on =
April 30 but=20
fault was found with the <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>paging of the transcripts, and =
later,=20
with the binding of the <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>transcripts. In any case our =
tape=20
remained with the Censor Board <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>from April 30 till today (more =
than a=20
month). Finally on May 27 our <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>application was deemed correct =
and=20
complete. Now a new saga <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>began. We were asked to stay in =
touch=20
with an officer of the <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>Censor=20
Board who would set up the Censor screening after the <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>examining committee had been =
named. We=20
called this officer <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>everyday=20
for four days only to be told that there was a delay <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>because the Censor Board needed =
to locate=20
a Japanese translator <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>who=20
could verify that our Japanese translations were correct. This =
<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>seemed to be a strange problem =
as the=20
only Japanese in our video <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>is=20
the testimony of Atom bomb survivors and this is hardly <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>controversial enough to warrant =
such=20
scrutiny of the Censor Board! <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal>What we had first thought to be mere bureaucratic =
delay=20
and <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>incompetence =
turned out=20
to be something much more deliberate. <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The Sudhir Yardi Memorial trust =
had=20
obtained special permission <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>from the Police and =
Entertainment Tax=20
Departments to screen <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>"War=20
and Peace" at the YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai on the 1st of <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>June as it was an award winning =
film and=20
it was a non-commercial <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>screening. On May 30, Mr. Vijay =
Desai of=20
the Chavan Centre <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>received an=20
angry call from Mr. Singhla, Regional Officer of the <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Censor Board, Mumbai =
threatening dire=20
consequences if the <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>screening=20
went ahead. <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal>I phoned Mr. Singhla to find out whether in view of =
the=20
impending <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>screening, the=20
Censor viewing could be expedited or if special <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>permission could be granted for =
the=20
screening. He was brusque <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>and=20
arrogant while denying the permission and stated that the <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Censor viewing would take its =
own time.=20
He also added that our <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>video=20
would run into trouble because it had references to the <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Tehelka arms scandal which was=20
sub-judice. I was shocked. Not <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>only is he wrong in that the =
Tehelka=20
issue is up before a fact finding <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>commission of enquiry and not =
in a court=20
of law and therefore <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>cannot=20
be sub-judice, but how did he know that our video had <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>referenced Tehelka? This is a =
tiny=20
fraction of our 3 hour video and <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>occurs toward the end. Did the =
Regional=20
Officer watch our video <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>himself before constituting an =
examining=20
committee? Is that the act <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>of=20
an impartial officer or of an interested party? <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal>I went on to point out that the Films Division of =
India which=20
comes <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>under the =
Ministry for=20
Information and Broadcasting had not only <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>awarded our video but was about =
to screen=20
all award winning films <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>and=20
videos of MIFF 2002 in Kolkata regardless of whether they had =
<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>censor certificates. "War and =
Peace" was=20
to be the inaugural film <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>on=20
31st May. At this Mr. Singhla laughed and said "Let us see how =
<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>they show the film". =
<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal>He was right. This Regional Officer has powers that =
go beyond=20
his <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>region. I =
learnt on May=20
31 that our video had been withdrawn at the <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>last minute from the Kolkata =
festival.=20
The Films Division could not <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>use the argument about the =
censor=20
certificate as many films they <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>were showing had no =
certificate. So they=20
told the press that our <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>video=20
"had not arrived". When the press contacted us we had <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>documentary proof that the =
Films Division=20
had signed a receipt for <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>the=20
film two weeks ago! Then they said that the film had arrived but =
<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>the quality was bad. But I had =
a letter=20
from them only three days <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>ago=20
inviting me to come to Kolkata for the inauguration. The letter =
<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>does not mention either the =
non-arrival=20
or the bad quality of our <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>video. <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal>I do not blame officials of the Films Division of =
anything=20
more than <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>wanting =
to protect=20
their jobs. They were going to show "War and <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Peace" in all sincerity until =
rudely=20
stopped by some invisible force. <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This invisible force has in the =
last 15=20
years taken our country to the <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>abyss. I want this invisible =
force to=20
come clean and reveal itself to <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>the public gaze. Let it openly =
declare=20
that it does not believe in <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>democracy or in the values =
propagated by=20
Mahatma Gandhi. These <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>values=20
of non-violence and religious tolerance are what "War and <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Peace" celebrates and hopes to =
rekindle=20
in our psychologically and <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>physically scarred region of =
the=20
globe. <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal><SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>Anand Patwardhan=20
1st June 2002 <SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"> =20
</SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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